Hello! Welcome back to my series of In-depth blog posts 🙂
These last couple weeks have been very busy for me (as always), but I was still able to conduct a fair amount of research, brainstorm ideas for future projects, do a little bit of digital art, and meet with my mentor. Xylia and I talked mostly about some ideas for what I can do next. I shared some of the research I did on art projects, and then I provided my own opinions on them. This included discussing concerns, possible modifications, likes and dislikes, and more. Having this type of discussion allowed us to narrow down our options. While I spoke about the art project ideas I had come up with, Xylia inserted her own ideas from past experience into the conversation, which I found really helpful. Further, we both showed each other the art we had been doing in the past couple of weeks, commenting on what we liked about each of the pieces.
One of the possible project ideas I had was to create intricate colouring pages with lines and patterns that I can print out and possibly make into some sort of book or package. The following types of colouring sheets are where I drew the inspiration from:
   
This was just one of the several ideas Xylia and I are currently working with, and we will continue to discuss final projects in later meetings.
I’ll share a quick little drawing of a wonky goat I did last week below as well.
One other task I experimented with over the past couple weeks was trying out some different exercises related to improving hand-eye coordination. They aren’t finished pieces by any means, because they are more about getting practice and supporting growth in my chosen area of art. Perhaps I can share some pictures of the exercises I am doing in the future for reference.
How to Have a Beautiful Mind – The Six Hats
Instead of transcribing an entire conversation from the meeting with my mentor, I will list a couple snippets of dialogue and identify the hats being used in each.
- “Some people in my art war Discord server were doing a challenge where you have to draw fifty expressions, and I decided to do that, and it takes so long. I think I’ve been working on it for two days now, and I’ve only done […] thirty maybe.” – Xylia
- This bit of the conversation from Xylia can fit into the white hat category. She shared a personal fact that can be classified as ‘soft information’. It can also fit into the green hat category, as it has to do with creativity and sharing ideas on possibilities and designs for art projects/challenges.
- “You could probably find one with less than fifty if you wanted to try it.” – Xylia / “Yeah! Maybe that’s what I’ll do for next week then.” – Me
- This exchange of ideas could be classified under the blue hat. It set the intention for the next length of conversation, in which Xylia and I talked about different project ideas. She told me more about the expressions drawings, and then I began to explain all of the ideas I had come up with on my own. It was really good to get some feedback from someone who has seen many of these types of projects being done before. Once I decide on something, she can give me more information and suggestions as I go.
- “I would love to be able to do something like that, but my main concern is that it would take a lot of time that I don’t really have […] So I was brainstorming some different routes I could go with it…” – Me
- I am going to categorize this quote as part of the black hat section of my conversation with Xylia. I used critical thinking to determine if the projects we were talking about were something that I would be able to do. This meant thinking rationally about my time, resources, and abilities at the moment. In this way, I was able to effectively come to a conclusion that, instead of ending the conversation, carried the conversation further into new branches of possibility.
Thanks 🙂
-Lara Chamberlain